Authors

• Borg, Sami (University of Tampere. Research Institute for Social Sciences)

Keywords

European Parliament elections, local government elections, national elections, political allegiance, political attitudes, political interest, political participation, social exclusion, unemployment, voting behaviour, youth, youth unemployment

Abstract

The aim of the survey was to chart Finnish young people's party allegiance, interest in politics, political involvement and voting behaviour in several recent elections. Respondents were asked how interested they are in politics, and how many days a week they listen, watch or read news or current affairs programs/articles. Party allegiance, and frequency of discussing politics with others were investigated. Respondents were asked to indicate to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to political efficacy, political influence, political parties, and trust in the government, politicians and political system (e.g. I have no say in what the government or Parliament decide; Political parties are only interested in people's votes, not in their opinions). Certainty of voting in the next Parliamentary elections was covered.

The survey studied respondents' voting, and candidate and party choices in the 1995 Finnish Parliamentary elections, the 1994 presidential elections, the 1994 EU membership referendum, the 1996 municipal and European Parliament elections. Reasons for not voting were investigated. Respondents were also asked how well they knew the candidate they had voted for in the municipal elections. One question asked whether someone had urged the respondent to vote. General satisfaction with life, satisfaction with own economic situation, and satisfaction with the current government (Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen) were surveyed. Views on Finland's EU membership were probed. The respondent's and household members' experiences and periods of unemployment were charted, likewise how common unemployment was in the neighbourhood.

Background variables included respondent's economic activity, occupational group, gender, age, type of place of residence, region of residence, and vocational education of respondent and parents.